Plate-printing machine



Nu. 625,3!5. Patented May 23, I899.

E. S. BRADFORD. v

PLATE PRINTING MACHINE.

' (Application flied Sept. 24, 1898.) (No Model.) 4 sneaks-sum l.

No. 625,315. Patented. May 23,1899.

E. S. BBADFDRD. I

PLATE PRINTING MACHINE.

(Application filed Sept. 24, M398.

(No Model.)

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No. 625,3l5. Patented May 23, I899. E. s. BRADFORD.

I PLATE PRINTING MACHINE.

(Application filed Sept. 24, 1898.)

4 Sheets$heet 3.

.(No Model.)

I IIIIIIIII IIII 1.7.! J LIUJUU No. 625,315. Patented May 23, I899.

E. S. BRADFORD. PLATE PRINTING MACHINE.

(Applicatiox'z filed Sept. 24, 189B.)

4 sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

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UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE SEMPLE BRADFORD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE STEEL PLATE PRINTING COMPANY, OF CAMDEN,

NEIV JERSE Y.

PLATE-PRINTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 625,315, dated May 23, 1899.

Application filed September 24, 1898. Serial No. 691,756.

T (0% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EUGENE SEMPLE BRAD- FORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in \Viping and Polishing Mechanism for Printing-Presses, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention has relation to printingpresses, and particularly to those of the rotary-plate type, and it comprises in such connection improvements in plate wiping and polishing devices or mechanisms for printingpresses.

My invention, stated in general terms, consists of the improvements in printing-presses when constructed and arranged in substantially the manner hereinafter described and claimed.

The nature and characteristic features of my present invention will be more fully understood from the following description,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, in which Figure l is a side elevation of a printingpress embodying main features of my invention with the plate-cylinder of the same occupying a position to the right of the printing- 0 press. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of Fig. 1, certain portions being broken away in order to more fully illustrate the polishing and wiping devices of the printing-press with the plate-cylinder shown in contact with the pol- 3 5 ishing device of my present invention. Fig.

3 is a detail view of the polishing device enlarged, illustrating the same in top or plan view. Fig. a is a side elevation, partly sectioned, of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional view 0 on the line 00 cc of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a sectional View on the line 3 3 reduced, of Fig. 4, looking toward the polisher-head. Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line .2 .2 of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a View, partly in section and partly in elevation, of mechanism for controlling the operation of the polishing device. Fig. 9 is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, at right angles to Fig. 8. Fig. 10 represents details thereof, and Figs. ll and 12 are respectively views in longitudinal section and front elevation of a spool adapted to be (No model.)

used in conjunction with the wiping and polishing devices.

Referring to the drawings, the plate-printin g press or machine of my said invention comprises an impression-cylinder A and a platecylinder B, both suitably journaled in bearings in the framework 0 of the machine. The bearings w of the impression-cylinder are preferably supported in vertical guides w, and a spring 'w and a set-screw 10 are provided, whereby the position and pressure of the impression-cylinder A are readily and'efticiently adjusted.

D represents a drag for wiping a printingplate B, carried by the printing-cylinder B of the printing-press, after it has been inked by the inking-rollers a and b of an inking apparatus fully described and shown in an application filed by me under date of January 9, 1899, and under the Serial No. 701,540. This device consists of a frame (1, in which are mounted the shafts d, the preferably square portion of which carries two spools 61*, upon which an apron e is wound, as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The apron passes from one of the spools 01 up over a roller 6', then down beneath a roller 6 supported on the frame d, then up over a roller 6 and then down to the other spool d The rollers e and e are in close proximity to the passing printing-plate B, carried around by the printingcylinder B, as illustrated in Fig. 1, so that the apron e wipes the face of the plate B. These rollers e and e are supported on stems 6 which pass loosely through the sleeves 6 secured to the frame d. Springs e are placed between the sleeves e and the heads of the rods 6 so as to keep the rollers e and e in their outer position with a spring-pressure, and the lower ends of the rods e are provided with thumb-nuts 6 by which the position of the rollers e and a may be adjusted.

On theshaft d of one of the spools d is mounted a ratchet-Wheel e engaged by a pawl e on a lever 6 This lever e is connected by a rod f to a crank-arm f on the main shaft L of the press or machine. As the wheel revolves an oscillating movement is imparted to the lever e causing the spool d to be intermittently turned by means of the ratchet-wheel e and thus the apron to be moved at intervals from one of the spools (Z onto the other and presenting thereby clean surfaces of the apron to the engraved plate B each time the plate comes around. \Vhen the apron e has passed from one roller onto the other, it may be reversed and the other side of it used by changing the spool. The spools D are held under tension in the frame (Z by means of pins (Z which are held inwardlybymeans of springs (Z pressing against their outer ends.

H represents a polisher for wiping the plate 13 after it has been wiped by the drag D. But one of these polishers has been shown, yet it is to be understood that any desired number may be employed. The polisher shown is driven from the counter-shaft g, which is provided with a gear-wheel g, meshing with a pinion on the shaft 9 to which the driving-pulley g is secured, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The gear-wheel g also meshes with a gear-wheel g that engages a pinion g on the shaft On this shaft is a bevel-wheel 9 that engages with a bevelwheel h. The bevel-wheel h of the polisher is formed upon or secured to a sleeve h, as illustrated in Fig. 4, and fits over and is splined to a shaft 7L2 and turns with it, the

shaft 71 being capable, however, of longitudinal movement within the sleeve h.

To the inner end of the shaft 72. is secured the polisher-head 713, and surrounding the shaft 7L2 is a spring h, which serves to force the polisher-head always toward the platecylinder B.

The sleeve h is held by and fits in a bracket or housing 7L5, supported on ablock h", as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4. This block is held between standards 2', as illustrated in Fig. 2, by means of bolts h fitting the slots 11 in the upper ends of the standards. The housing 7L5 can be moved slightly endwise on the block 7L6, and the block can be moved in a vertical direction slightly by the bolts 71, fitting in the slots 1." of the standards, whereby the face of the polisher can be readily adj usted with relation to the surface it has to operate upon.

h represents a lever pivoted at 72. to the housing Zi and the outer end of which is forked to span ,the shaft 71. and engage ball-bearing collars 71. fixed and movably connected with the shaft 7L2. The inner end of the lever is forked to receive a threaded rod h, tapped into the housing 72.5, and which rod is provided with a thumb-nut h By tightening the thumb-nut h the lever 72. draws the shaft 7L2, and consequently the polisher-head Z2 away from the plate-cylinder B. By loosening the nut h the shaft and the polisher-head will be forced toward the plate-cylinder B by means of the spring h. The polisher-head is revolved by means of the gearing described, the rotation of the bevel-wheel h by the gear connections causing the polisher-head to r0- tate in a similar manner. The polisher-head 71. carries an apron h, of suitable cloth, wound on spools h and h, and is of the same charact-er as those for the wiper D. (Illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12.) The apron h passes over the front or face of the head 72. as illustrated in Fig. 4.

A tension device may be applied to the spool of ribbon or apron, such as ascrew-pin 7L", passing through the bearing of the shaft h and bearing against said shaft and a spring h to resist the turning of said screw-pin h". For shifting or moving the ribbon or apron h in an intermittent manner is provided, preferably, a set of friction-wheels k, and 7c, the friction-wheel 70 being splined in a sleeve k which is journaled on a fixed hub or hollow stud k projecting from the housing 7L5, and the friction-wheel 70 being mounted on the shaft k of the polisher-head 72 The shaft k is provided with a worm 7.3 preferably incased and indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 4, which engages with a wormwheel k on the shaft 7L of the apron mechanism, as shown in section in Fig. 5. The intermediate friction-wheel k is journaled on a support 10 projecting from the polisherhead 7L3. semicircular brake-shoes k and 7e pivoted at R and Z5 to the housing or frame hflembrace the sleeve 7. and are normally held apart by a spring 73, so as to release the sleeve and allow it to turn freely on the hub 70 of the housing 72. A shaft Z carries a pin Z, engaging with an inclined surface Z on a collar Z fixed to one of the brake-shoes by a setscrew Z and the outer end of the shaftZ carries nuts Z engaging with the other brakeshoe, so that as the shaft Z is turned the pin Z, riding upon an incline Z forces the brakeshoes together, and thus checks the rotation of the sleeve L and the friction-wheel k, splined thereon, as will be readily understood from Fig. 5 of the drawings. As the shaft 72.2 is turned the polisher-head will be rapidly revolved, polishing the plate B of the platecylinder B, and the friction-wheels 715 and 7.; will revolve around the center of the friction-wheel k, at the same time rotating the same, and the friction-wheels 7t" and 1.3 will not revolve on their axis until the movement of the friction -wheel Z: is checked by the brake-shoes Z0 and 7.3 and when this takes place the friction-wheels 7t" and k will be turned on their respective axes and the apron shifted along the face of the polisher-head by the action of the worm and worm-wheel.

The brake-shoes Z0 and 75 are applied by the rocking of the shaft Z. This is done by means of a crank Z on the shaft Z, which is pivotally connected to two rods m and m, sliding in fixed guides m and carrying pins or rollers m engaging with projections or tappets on the cam-drum n. The periphery of the cam-drum n has a groove n, in which is fixed a block or tappet of, that comes against the roller m on the rod on and thereby rocks the shaft Z in one direction and, by means of the pin Z, working on the incline surface Z ,closes the brake-shoes upon the hub 71: of the friction-wheel 7; and holds the pinion from turning, when, as already described, the apron will be shifted along the face of the polisher-head 71 On the inner face of the cam-drum n is a projection or tappet 02 which engages with the pin or roller m of the rod m, and after the parts have'been shifted, as above, thereby throws the rod m and with it the crank Z and shaftZ in the opposite direction to that in which they were moved by the tappet 01 thus releasing the pin Z from the incline Z and allowing the spring Z to separate the brake shoes from the hub k whereupon the friction-wheel 7t" rotates freely, as before, and the shifting of the apron ceases. The tappetblock a is held in the groove n of the camdrum n by a flange on its inner end fitting into enlargements n in the groove 07. and is held to its adjustment by a pawl n pivoted thereto and which engages notches n in one wall of the groove, the pawl being pressed into engagement with the notches by means of a spring a and being drawn out of engagement with the notches when it is desired to adjust the blocks by means of the pin a projecting from the pawl w, as illustrated in Figs. 8, 9, and 10 of the drawings.

In order to guide the apron 7t straight while it is being drawn over the face of the polisher-head 7L3 and keep it, from crowding to one side or the other by reason of inequalities or deviation from the proper direction of the edges or ends of the polisher-head, there is provided an adjustable edge piece at one or both ends of the polisher-head, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, wherein 0 represents such edge pieces secured to the polisher-head 7L by means of bolts 0, passing through the slots 0 in such edge pieces. By loosening the bolts the edge pieces can be adjusted to exact perpendicularity to the line of travel of the apron, and by then tightening up the bolts the apron will be guided accurately, with no tendency to crowd to one side or the other.

The object of the spline connection between the friction-wheel 7tand its hub is to permit the polisher-head 713, with the frictionwheels 7t, 1;, and k to be moved longitudinally under the influence of the spring h and the adjusting device without interfering with the friction-wheel connections.

Having thus described the nature and objects of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine of the character described, a rotatable cylinder adapted to receive and support a removable printing-plate, a rotary polisherprovided with a head having an apron, said polisherbeing pivotally supported at one end only and the other end free so that said head with its apron is adapted to occupy different angles of inclination wit-h respect to the position of the printing-plate of said cylinder in action, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In a machine of the character described,

a rotatable cylinder adapted to receive and support a removable printing-plate, a rotary polisher provided with a headhaving an apron, said polisher being pivotallysupported at one end only and the other end free so that any portion of the apron of said head may be brought into contact with the printing-plate of said cylinder in action, and an edge piece detachably and adjustably connected with either end of said head, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. In a machine of the character described, a rotatable cylinder adapted to receive and support a removable printing-plate, a horizontally and vertically adjustable rotary polisher provided with a head carrying an apron, said polisher being supported at one end only and a slotted edge piece adj ustably connected with either end of said head so as to prevent crowding of the apron of said head in the direction of rotation of the same, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4:. In a machine of the character described, a rotatable cylinder adapted to receive and support a removable printing-plate, a rotary polisher provided with a head carrying an apron, said polisher being pivotally supported at one end only and the other end free to swing so as to bring anyportion of said head with its apron into contact with the printingplate of said cylinder, and adjustable guides consisting of slotted end pieces with bolts extending through the slots of said pieces into the ends of said head, substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. In a machine of the character described, a polishing-apron, a polisher-head provided with apron-carrying devices, means for rotating the polisher-head, a housing in which the polisher-head is mounted, friction-brake devices mounted on said housing and frictionwheels engaging with one another and also engaging with the brake and apron-carrying devices, substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. In a machine of the character described, a frame, a pair of spools mounted in said frame, an apron adapted to be wound from one spool onto the other, a pair of springpressed rollers over which said apron passes, an intermediate roller under which the apron passes, and means for moving one of the firstmentioned spools to shift said apron, substantially as and for the purposes described.

7. In a machine of the character described, a printing-plate cylinder, a pair of spools, an apron adapted to be wound from one spool onto the other, rods upon which said rollers are mounted, a set-screw engaging said rods and a spring engaging said set-screw to pre* vent turning thereof and said set-screw adapted to maintain said apron taut and said rollers in such condition as to yield when said apron is shifted, substantially as and for the purposes described.

S. In a machine of the character described, a frame, a pair of spools supported in said frame, an apron adapted to be Wound from one spool onto the other, a pair of rollers over which said apron passes, rods upon which said rollers are mounted, sleeves through which said rods pass, nuts on the lower ends of said rods, and springs between said sleeves, and rollers over which said apron passes, substantially as and for the purposes described.

9. In a machine of the character described, a polisher carrying an apron, means for actuating said polisher, and means for intermittently moving said apron, consisting of friction-Wheels connected with the apron-carrying devices, a pair of brake-shoes applied to one of said friction-wheels, one of said brakeshoes being provided with an inclined part, and means for applying the shoes consisting of a rock-shaft provided with a pin adapted to engage with the other brakeshoe, and means for rocking said shaft, substantially as and for the purposes described.

10. In a machine of the character described, a polisher-head, means for turning said polisher-head, means for intermittently moving an apron, consisting of friction-Wheels connected to said polisher-head and a pair of brake-shoes applied to the friction-wheels of the head, one of said brake-shoes being provided with an inclined part, and means for applying the shoe, consisting of a shaft provided with a pin adapted to engage said inclined part on one of the brake-shoes, and said shaft also engaging with the other brakeshoe, and means for rocking said shaft, said means connected With said crank, a grooved wheel, and an adjustable block in said wheel, substantially as and for the purposes described.

11. In a machine of the character described, a polisher having a gear-supporting housing, an operating-shaft passing through saidhousing, a lever pivoted to said housing and engaging with said shaft, and a set-screw for adjusting said lever, substantially as and for the purposes described.

12. In a machine of the character described, a polisher having a housing, a shaft passing through said housing, a lever pivoted to said housing and engaging with said shaft, a threaded rod tapped ,in said housing, and a thumb-nut on said rod for adjusting said lever, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EUGENE SEMPLE BRADFORD.

\Vitnesses:

J. WALTER DOUGLASS, THOMAS M. SMITH. 

